Waler bracket



Aug.19,1969 F.E.BUYKEN 1462,106.

WALER BRACKET Filed oct. 11, 1967 "if f/ O f/ 939% MM gun-I+' A rrafwf/ 3,462,106 A WALER BRACKET Frank E. Buyken, 1517 Rainier Ave S., Seattle, Wash. 98144 Filed Oct. 11, 1967, Ser. No. 674,602 Int. Cl. A47h 1/10; E04g 11/.06, 17/06 U.S. Cl. 248-205 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A waler bracket `adapted to engage a tie-rod including a ledge to support a waler and a vertical wall memf ber adapted to press against the outside surface of a waler forcing the waler to press against a concrete form.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates generally to the art of concrete construction and, more particularly, to an improved bracket for supporting and pressing a waler against a concrete-form panel.

Desciption of the prior art In the concrete construction ield it is common to employ walers to bolster or reinforce concrete-form panels to prevent them from bulging, blowing or lbreaking under the force of the fluid concrete which such panels retain until it is set. The walers are normally supported by brackets, such as those shown in co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 471,226, filed July 12, 1965, now U.S. Patent No. 3,347,510.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved waler bracket adapted to engage and be supported yby the headed outer end of a tie-rod passing through a concrete-form panel and, in turn, to tense such tie-rod and support while pressing a waler against such panel. Another object of this invention is the provision of a waler bracket of the type described above which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to use.

The foregoing and other objects have been realized by the waler bracket of the present invention which includes a pair of spaced, upstanding members biased toward one another from the upstanding members, and an inwardly biased wall member extending upwardly from one of the upstanding members above the plane of the ledge members. The shorter upstanding member is adapted to engage the head of a short-type tie-rod and the longer upstanding member is adapted to engage the head of alongtype tie-rod. When the bracket is positioned to engage a tie-rod head passing through a concrete-form panel, and a waler is forced between the form panel and the inwardly biased wall member portion of the longer upstanding member, the tie-rod will be placed in tension, and the wall mem-ber will press the waler against the form panel to bolster or reinforce it.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more apparent during the course of the following description in which is set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. l is a fragmentary side elevation view, partly in section, showing a waler supported and pressed against a concrete-form panel by a bracket constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, and

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showing, in phantom lines, the position the'bracket assumes prior to the insertion of the walerg-and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the'walerbracket shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF 'THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, a waler bracket 10 is shown supporting and pressing a waler 12 against the outer face of concrete-form panel 14. Bracket 10 engages and is supported onv the head 16 of a short-type tie-rod 18 which passes through aperture 20 in panel 14. As shown in phantom lines in FIG. 1, the bracket is also adapted to engage the head 22 of a long-type tie-rod having an extended shank portion 24.

Typically, waler 12 comprises a two-byfour timber of construction -grade lumber (circa 15/8 inch x 3% inches). The concrete-form panel 14 is usually plywood, approximately ,3A inch in thickness; and-.the tie-rod 18 is formed of steel bar stock approximately yl inch in diameter. A supporting washer 26 on the intermediate portion 28 of the tie-rod bears on the panel innerface and closes Ithe inner end of the aperture 20.

Waler bracket 10 includes a pair of spaced, upstanding members 30 and 32 which are integrally joined at their lower ends by portion 341. The upstanding member 30 has its upper end turned over to form the waler supporting ledge member 34. A second ledge member 36 extends toward member 34 from upstanding member 32. The upper extension portion 38 of member 32 rises above the plane of the waler-supporting ledge members 34 and 36 and forms a Wall member which lbears on the outer edge of waler 12, supported on the ledge members 34 and 36.

Normally (i.e. prior to the insertion of a waler), as shown in phantom lines in FIG. 1, the maximum distance between the upstanding members 30 and 32 is less than the usual width of the waler to be supported. An outwardly curved lip 40 is preferably provided at the upper end of wall member 38 to facilitate insertion of a waler, as will be more fully described below.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the shorter upstanding member 30 is provided with an inverted keyhole slot 44 for engaging the head 16 of a shor-t-type tie-rod. A second inverted keyhole slot 46 may also be provided in the longer upstanding member 32 for engaging the head of a longer-type tie-rod.

In operation, form-carpenters insert tie-rods through a series of pre-formed, aligned holes 20 in a concreteforming panel 14. They next engage a Waler bracket on each tie-rod head and then insert and force an elongated waler 12, initially tilted or canted, between the outer face of panel 14 and the biased bracket wall 38. The curved lip 40 on the wall eases such insertion by reducing friction.

The wedging action of the waler between the bracket wall 38 and panel 14 forces upstanding member 32 to pivot (in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. l) about fulcrum line 42. This action places the tie-rod 18 i-n tension. The wall 38 will force waler 12 against the outer surface of panel 14 and the washer 26 on the tensed tie-rod 18 will press the inner surface of the panel 14 and force it against the waler to further tighten the assembly.

When so assembled, the waler 12 functions to bolster the panel and prevent it from bowing or fracturing under the force of the iluid concrete (not shown) which the form retains. When the concrete sets, the bracket-waler structure is disassembled by striking an upward blow at or near the fulcrum line 42 of the bracket 10 to move the inverted keyhole slot 44 (or keyhole slot 46, if the longer-type tie-rod is employed) upwardly until the enlarged :potion thereof registers with the tie-rod head 3 16. Thereupon, the outwardpressure on the bracket, created by the waler, will force the bracket oi the tie-rod head. Or, the waler may be "upwardly dislodged from the bracket supporting it, whereupon all the brackets may be lifted oif the tie-rods.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A waler bracket, comprising:

a pair of upstanding members joined between their i lower ends by a resilient member biasing said mem- 'bers toward each other so that they are normally spaced apart a distance less than the Width of a waler to be supported by said bracket;

instanding waler support means on at least one of said upstanding members and disposed therebetween;

one of said upstanding members including a portion extending above said instanding waler support lmeans and forming a wall member to bear on a supported waler; and

means on said bracket for engaging a headed member UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,128,525 4/1964 Kay 249-217 3,174,203 3/1965 Kemper 25-131 3,216,690 11/1965 Jahn 249-219 3,315,937 4/1967 Eriksson 249-219 X 3,347,510 10/1967 Buyken 248-205 ROY D. F RAZIER, Primary Examiner I. FRANKLIN FOSS, Assistant Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 249-44, 219 

